Me, Mom, And Lizzie
by Ghostwriter
Summary: For Father's Day, Casey reveals why she's grateful for the Venturis.


ME, MOM, AND LIZZIE

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

An idea I had for LWD before they ever aired "Dinner Guest", so this is definitely AU. For this fic, it's Father's Day. Takes place in season two after Battle Of The Bands. Uses a slight variation of Me and Emily by Rachel Proctor.

Casey MacDonald sat at the living room table, drawing feverishly. Presently, her stepbrother, Derek Venturi came down the stairs.

"Hey, Keener. Whatcha doin'?" he greeted.

"Father's Day card for George," was the response.

"Uh, why? He's **my** dad, not yours," he stated.

"Whatever," she sighed in irritation. Before he could answer, the rest of their family came in.

"Hey, whatcha working on?" George asked as Casey gave a startled yelp and hid her project.

"George, you can't see this! It's a surprise!" she told him. Derek huffed.

"Look Casey, I told you: he's **my** dad, not yours. So why don't you make a card for the man who's actually related to you?" he spat out. Casey grabbed her stuff and jumped up.

"You jerk! You don't know anything about us!" she snapped, and then ran off.

"Really, Derek. Was that necessary?" George scolded.

"That was such a bratty thing to do," Nora added.

"Look, is it my fault she's so sensitive?" Derek defended himself.

"Shut up, creep! You know, Casey takes a lot of flak from you, and I don't even know why," Lizzie snapped. Then, she ran off.

"Whatever," Derek said, and then went up to his room, unaware that Edwin was close behind until he reached his destination.

"Derek," Edwin said.

"What?" Derek snapped.

"Are you going to apologize?" Edwin queried.

"For?" Derek asked.

"Being a jerk," Edwin answered. "That was really harsh, bro," he continued. In her room, Casey wrote furiously. There was a knock on the door.

"What?" the older girl snapped. The door opened to reveal Lizzie.

"Are you okay?" she questioned. Her sister shrugged. "What are you working on?" she asked.

"Just something for George. I don't care what Derek says. We're lucky to have George and I wanna tell him that," Casey said. Then, "I'll be down in a bit."

"Okay," Lizzie accepted. Then, she walked out of the room. Casey continued working. Finally, she was done. She walked into Derek's room, grabbed his guitar, and then walked downstairs.

"Casey…Are you okay?" George questioned, standing up.

"I'm fine, George, thank you. I have something for you for Father's Day, and Derek's gonna help me," Casey replied, handing him a sheet. Derek started to protest, but shut up when he saw his father's stern look. Reluctantly, he began to play the chords. _Man, I can't believe they're makin' me do this_, he thought to himself.

_Floorboards were filled with baby toys,_

_An' empty coke bottles, an' coffee cups,_

_Drivin' through the rain with no radio,_

_Tryin' not to wake her up._

_Mom's phone said "low battery",_

_Man, what if we broke down?_

_We were just lookin' for an exit_

_With a lotta lights,_

_A safe little interstate town._

Edwin looked at Casey in confusion. What kind of song was this? Lizzie likewise looked confused. What was Casey singing about?

_Just a cheap hotel,_

_With a single bed_

_And cable TV._

_Was good enough for me, Mom, and Lizzie._

Marti squirmed in George's lap. This was such a boring song. From her position on the couch, Nora froze. She realized what Casey was doing. She was telling her stepfamily about their previous life. George noted her nervousness and reached over, and put his hand on hers. She threw him a smile.

_One day, when she was old enough,_

_She started askin' questions about him._

_Some kid at school brought his Dad for show an' tell, _

_and got her little mind a-wonderin'. "Where's our Daddy? Do we _

_have one? Does he not love us like she do?" _

_Oh, maybe she'll find someone to love the three of us, tell her when she's old enough to _

_know the truth. _

Derek frowned and his brows furrowed in confusion. As Casey sang, he had been getting a tight feeling in his stomach, and he wasn't sure he liked where this song seemed to be going.

_Would it break her heart?_

_Would she understand?_

_That we had to leave?_

_That's what was best for me, Mom, and Lizzie._

_The house was never clean enough; his dinner never warm enough._

_Nothing we did was ever good enough to make him happy._

_So, I guess, he gave us what he thought we deserved, but it'd kill us if he ever raised his hand to her._

Edwin shared a sharp look with Lizzie, who shrugged. She didn't remember any of this.

_So we settled down in a brand-new town an' we became a family of three _

_Picture perfect life with no tremblin'_

_An' we were finally free._

Casey shared a smile with Nora and George and then continued.

_She's a brand-new wife _

_With a happier life _

_Those days are just bad memories, for me, Mom, and Lizzie. _

_Hallway is filled with kiddie toys,_

_An' empty coke bottles, and coffee cups,_

_At last she found one great guy,_

_And things are startin' to look up._

When Casey finished, tears were streaming down her face.

"Oh, Casey," George murmured.

"Happy Father's Day, George. Thank you for everything," Casey said. Then, she threw herself into his arms and let him hold her as she cried.

THE END

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End file.
